A Proposal: to add one sentence to the Accomack County Comprehensive Plan Update in order to minimize applications to rezone in regions having agricultural integrity and/or water quality sensitivity.

Where: to page 6-16, under “Criteria for Evaluating Development Proposals to Implement the Land Use Plan:” --and relative to a list of criteria sufficient to deny a rezoning.

Change: add the sentence (underlined/in red) to criterion # 3, stated below: # 3 Adjacent uses – whether the proposed uses are compatible with current and planned adjacent uses. This includes the broad constraint issues of fragmentation of farm and forest lands and impact upon water sensitive areas near the coast or within the aquifer recharge area. (Consideration of proffered conditions to mitigate any incompatible aspects would also be a factor, as indicated in criterion #6).

Rationale:
It is felt that recommended action 1-A, creation of additional zoning districts, addresses only part of the process of “protecting areas designated as important for agricultural use or environmental protection--” (p. 5-4). Another part is minimizing requests for rezoning in such designated areas of protection. However, no broad constraint methodology is included to actively manage requests to rezone in regional water-sensitive areas targeted for protection. Statements like “to the extent feasible” or “not as suitable for development as most other areas” (page 6-11) do not establish the necessary linkages between “goals and objectives” and rezoning regulations.

It is felt that this minor change to the text would clarify rezoning issues. Hopefully it would make everyone’s job easier by reducing the number of requests to rezone Ag zone areas where higher density development would threaten water resources. It would thus assist in steering higher intensity development to new zoning district areas, where protection is either not relevant or is exempted due to over-riding favorable factors (also see p. 6-6).

Ed Hopkins
Modest Town, Va.
2/08